For the party or the leader?

Last we heard of Doug Ford, was about his aspirations to run for mayor of Toronto, the post that his late brother Rob Ford held until he passed away in March 2016. Doug Ford managed to secure the leadership of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party with much ease. The moment he was announced the leader, he exhibited his confidence when he said, “We’re going to defeat Kathleen Wynne and bring prosperity back to this great province. We’re uniting the team and we’re going to defeat Kathleen Wynne.”  By picking Doug Ford to succeed Patrick Brown, the Conservatives have voted to present a surprise in the political arena. But is his assertion right and to what extend?

Perhaps he draws that confidence that is well reflected in the results of an opinion poll of Forum Poll.  If an election were held now the Liberals in Ontario would secure only 23 per cent of the vote, the National Democratic Party would come in second with 27 per cent of votes and Progressive Conservative Party would win with 44 per cent of votes and that could mean a comfortable majority for the Progressive Conservative Party.  A situation any leader would cherish and would go all out to make it come true. However, while the Ontarians obviously seem dissatisfied with Kathleen Wynee led Liberals, and the wind could be blowing in favor of the Progressive Conservatives, all is not well for Doug Ford.  The same poll suggests that almost half of Ontario voters disapprove of Doug Ford as leader of the Progressive Conservatives! Of the 923 Ontario voters surveyed the Forum Poll, 48 per cent said they disapprove of Doug Ford, 36 per cent said they approve and 16 per cent said they don’t know.

A situation that no party would want its leader to be in, a situation that no party would want to face – Paradoxical situation for a newly elected leader. Will he be able to pull it off for his party? At this moment we need to look at the assets and the baggage that he brings with him. Doug Ford is known more for his business acumen than his political career. Doug Ford is acknowledged more for his association with Deco Labels and Tags, the family owned business that made the Fords a force to reckon with in the business community. On the political front Doug Ford has had only a single term as a Toronto City councilor from 2010 to 2014. Much of that time, was under the shadow of his brother Rob Ford and that too when Rob Ford as the Mayor of Toronto was embroiled in controversies that involved surfacing of video that showed Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine, admitting to having driven after taking a drink and yet another video that showed Rob Ford driving on Gardiner while reading a newspaper. Doug Ford put in a great effort to fulfill his brother’s pledge to cut waste. Doug Ford along with other candidates for the leadership, had rejected the idea of carbon tax, and had criticized the Liberal government’s sex education curriculum and had expressed his personal opposition to abortion and won applause when he said that he would allow conscience vote by caucus members on policy matters. Though winning the leadership of the Progressive Party has been a relatively easy task for him, but the party is carrying a huge baggage with popularity of Doug Ford being at its lowest. Progressive Conservatives will have to work out a strategy that would make its leader acceptable among those who have almost made up their mind to get the PC party in Ontario. However, their task is not easy with NDP close behind. With each passing day, the NDP is capable of giving a tough contest.

Liberals on the other hand, by allowing Premier Kathleen Wynne to stay as a leader despite having plumbed new depths in popularity polling have taken their chances of a comeback to a new low, as is shown by the opinion poll. With less than three months to go for the elections the task may not be that easy for the Progressive Conservatives as the opinion polls suggest. Ontarians will have a tough decision to make this time: to vote for the party or to vote for the leader?